Key Facts
- Hangul: 견디다 (gyeondida, 3 syllables)
- Meaning: to bear or to withstand
- Level: B2
- Stem: 견디
- Conjugation class: regular
- What it takes: What is borne takes 을/를 (추위를 견뎌요).
What Does 견디다 Mean?
견디다 means to bear hardship over a stretch of time: 더위를 견디다 is putting up with the heat. It also means to withstand force or time, as in 무게를 견디다. What you endure takes 을/를.
It often describes sustained endurance. 참다 more often highlights holding back a reaction or urge, though the two words overlap.
- to bear: Bear or endure hardship: 더위를 견디다.
- to withstand: Resist force or time: 무게를 견디다.
How Do You Pronounce 견디다?
Three syllables. The contracted past 견뎠어요 is said [견뎌써요] and the formal 견딥니다 is said [견딤니다]. Revised Romanization is gyeondida.
How Do You Use 견디다 in a Sentence?
더위를 견뎌요.
I put up with the heat.
A present sentence about heat: tolerating it.
추위를 견뎠어요.
I endured the cold.
Past tense about enduring cold.
힘든 시간을 견디면 강해져요.
If you endure hard times, you become stronger.
A general truth on the -면 ending: hardship endured makes you stronger.
How Does Gyeondida Conjugation Work?
견디다 is regular, and 디 plus 어 contracts to 뎌, so the polite form is 견뎌요 and the past is 견뎠어요. Before consonants the stem is intact: 견딥니다 and 견디는. In writing, the plain present 견딘다 states a general truth, as essays and news reports do.
The pattern behind 견디다 is taught step by step in the polite present recipe.
견디다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 견뎌요 | ||
| Polite past | 견뎠어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 견딜 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (guess) | 견디겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 견딥니다 | ||
| Formal past | 견뎠습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 견딜 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 견뎌 | ||
| Casual past | 견뎠어 | ||
| Casual future | 견딜 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 견디고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 견디세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 견뎌서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 견디면 | ||
| Present modifier | 견디는 | ||
| Past modifier | 견딘 | ||
| Future modifier | 견딜 | ||
| Short negative | 안 견뎌요 | ||
| Long negative | 견디지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 견뎌요 | as written |
| Polite past | 견뎠어요 | [견뎌써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 견딜 거예요 | [견딜꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 견디겠어요 | [견디게써요] |
| Formal present | 견딥니다 | [견딤니다] |
| Formal past | 견뎠습니다 | [견뎓씀니다] |
| Formal future | 견딜 것입니다 | [견딜꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 견뎌 | as written |
| Casual past | 견뎠어 | [견뎌써] |
| Casual future | 견딜 거야 | [견딜꺼야] |
| Want to (polite) | 견디고 싶어요 | [견디고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific polite | 견디세요 | as written |
| Because / and then | 견뎌서 | as written |
| If (conditional) | 견디면 | as written |
| Present modifier | 견디는 | as written |
| Past modifier | 견딘 | as written |
| Future modifier | 견딜 | as written |
| Short negative | 안 견뎌요 | as written |
| Long negative | 견디지 않아요 | [견디지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 견디어요 (in everyday speech)
Correct: ✓ 견뎌요
Why: 디 + 어 contracts to 뎌, so the form people say and write is 견뎌요. 견디어요 is the full, uncontracted form; spelling rules accept it, but in conversation it sounds stiff and bookish.
How Does 견디다 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | How to tell it from 견디다 |
|---|---|
| 참다 | To hold back a feeling or urge; it can also describe enduring discomfort. |
| 버티다 | To hold out against pressure. |
| 이기다 | To overcome or win. |
Waiting for a Bus on a Cold Evening
Two friends are at a windy bus stop. One suggests waiting indoors rather than continuing to endure the cold.
Mina
이 추위를 어떻게 견뎌요?
I chuwireul eotteoke gyeondyeoyo?
How do you put up with this cold?
Alex
어제도 여기서 한 시간을 견뎠어요.
Eojedo yeogiseo han siganeul gyeondyeosseoyo.
I endured an hour here yesterday too.
Mina
오늘도 견딜 거예요?
Oneuldo gyeondil geoyeyo?
Are you going to endure it again today?
Alex
아니요. 카페에서 기다려요.
Aniyo. Kapeeseo gidaryeoyo.
No. Let’s wait in a café.
견뎌요 asks about tolerating the present cold, 견뎠어요 recalls yesterday’s experience, and 견딜 거예요 asks about continuing today. 한 시간을 gives the length of the ordeal. The object does not have to be named again when both speakers already know what they are enduring.
Common Combinations with 견디다
더위를 견디다 means to endure heat, while 추위를 견디다 means to endure cold. Both name the uncomfortable condition with 을/를. 고통을 견디다 means to bear pain or suffering. The verb emphasizes staying through the difficulty rather than making it disappear.
무게를 견디다 means to withstand weight, and 압력을 견디다 means to withstand pressure. These can describe materials, furniture or structures. A shelf bearing a load does not have feelings; the shared idea is remaining functional under a burden. A description of endurance may therefore have a person or an object as its subject.
견딜 수 없다 means to be unable to bear something, and 견디기 힘들다 means that it is hard to endure. Both are common ways to express a limit. The second describes difficulty rather than absolute impossibility, so it can be a less categorical account of how someone feels.
Where Will You Meet 견디다?
In weather conversations, 견디다 helps explain how people experience heat or cold. It adds the sense of a burden to endure. A simple statement that the day is cold does not carry the same focus on how someone is managing it.
In dramas and personal stories, the burden may be loneliness, grief or a difficult period. 힘든 시간을 견디다 describes enduring hard times. It does not itself promise that hardship will make a person stronger; the existing conditional example expresses that additional idea as part of its own sentence.
In product descriptions, 견디다 may concern heat, weight or pressure. The noun and any stated limit matter. Saying that something withstands heat does not also say that it withstands impact or a heavy load. Translate the particular burden rather than treating the verb as a general promise of durability.
The verb is neutral enough for conversation, though its subject matter often sounds serious. 견디세요 can urge someone to endure, but an instruction to endure may sound demanding when a person is distressed. A polite ending does not automatically make advice supportive. The situation determines whether encouragement or an offer of help fits better.
How Does 견디다 Differ from 참다 and 버티다?
참다 often emphasizes restraining a reaction, urge or feeling. 견디다 emphasizes bearing a difficult condition. The distinction is a useful starting point, not a strict stopwatch rule: 참다 can also describe prolonged endurance, and both verbs can be used with pain. Choose according to the aspect of the experience you want to highlight.
버티다 often suggests holding one's ground or holding out under pressure. 견디다 centers the burden being borne. 이기다 adds the idea of winning or overcoming. Someone may endure a difficult period without describing it as a victory over an opponent.
Why Does a Regular Verb Become 견뎌요?
Regular does not mean that every written syllable stays separate. 디 plus 어 contracts to 뎌, giving 견뎌요 and 견뎠어요. This is a vowel contraction, not the ㄷ-to-ㄹ change found in ㄷ-irregular verbs. The ㄷ remains part of the syllable in both 견디 and 견뎌.
Before consonant endings, the stem remains visible in 견디면 and 견디는. 견딘 describes completed endurance before a noun; 견딜 looks ahead or appears in ability expressions such as 견딜 수 없다. Keep the space before 수 because it is a separate word.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 고통 | pain / suffering | A burden someone may endure. |
| 추위 | cold weather / coldness | The noun used as the object in 추위를 견디다. |
| 더위 | heat / hot weather | Names uncomfortable heat rather than temperature as a measurement. |
| 인내 | patience / endurance | The noun for enduring patiently. |
The emotion vocabulary lesson gives words for the feelings discussed in accounts of difficult experiences.
Mini Drill: Contraction and Endurance
- Give the usual polite present of 견디다.
- Change it to the polite past.
- Give the formal present.
- Give the conditional “if you endure”.
Show drill answers
- 견뎌요.
- 견뎠어요.
- 견딥니다.
- 견디면. The stem remains 견디 here.
Quick Self-Test
- Can a shelf be the subject of 견디다?
- Does 견디다 guarantee that someone overcomes the problem?
- Is 뎌 the result of a ㄷ-to-ㄹ irregular change?
Show answers
- Yes, when it withstands a load.
- No. It describes endurance.
- No. 디 and 어 contract to 뎌.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 견디다?
It is 견뎌요.
Is It the Same as 참다?
They overlap. 참다 often emphasizes holding back a reaction or urge; 견디다 emphasizes bearing a difficult condition. Both can describe enduring pain.
Can It Describe Objects?
Yes. 견디다 also means to withstand force or time.
What Particle Goes with It?
Use 을/를, as in 추위를 견뎠어요.
Which Words Are Related to 견디다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Next come 참다 and 힘들다, then 노력하다, the effort side of endurance. To test another form of 견디다 ('to bear'), open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.